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2014-07-31
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Following my previous visit to Espuma Lab @ POMO, I was invited again for a media tasting at their official launch! For a quick recap: their three-course set meals are very affordable at $8.80 with a soup, choice of main course, and a drink. The best part? You won't find them scrimping on quality at such low prices. If there's a place I'd recommend along the whole of Orchard Road for value and taste, it'll be Espuma Lab. The launch started with a brief introduction by Andrew Koh, the Marketing &
The launch started with a brief introduction by Andrew Koh, the Marketing & Communications Director of Espuma Lab alongside Alfred Lin, the Managing Director about their inspiration and aspirations for this concept-eatery. This is followed by a live demonstration by the renowned Chef Yeo Yeow Siang, who has worked in top hotels in Singapore. Their passion and dedication for their restaurant shine through their eyes when they introduced to us the dishes.
Espuma is a culinary technique in which an espuma siphon is used to infuse air into the food, creating an airily light mouthfeel. Here is Chef Teo showing us how he merged top-notch culinary techniques into our local delights like Beef Rendang, Curry Chicken and more.
This technique can be used to inject an interesting dimension to the texture of natural ingredients that have been pureed, mashed or juiced. For example, they mashed the potatoes and put it into the siphon equipment for it to be pumped out with a different texture. It has the taste of mashed potatoes, but it feels like clouds dancing on my tongue when I tasted it. It is very different from the usual heavy-weighted potato dishes and made it much more special. Note that for $8.80, you will probably get pretty uninspiring run-of-the-mill food elsewhere.
Chef Teo also explained to us about another culinary technique called the sous vide. The technical explanation is this: food is cooked in a vacuum at a constant temperature using a thermal circulator. This will help ensure eggs are perfectly cooked, without having to use an egg timer. This technique is also used with meats so as to lock in the moisture and tenderness of the meat. It's such a genius way of cooking that ensures consistency in every meal served at Espuma Lab.
The Sous Vide Eggs with Smoked Norwegian Salmon ($3.80) is a fusion local creation by Espuma Lab. I really liked this because the eggs were perfectly poached - the jelly sort of egg while it is still in a bowl but spills over in gold yolk fashion when you poke at it? Yes this is it. I wish I can learn how to sous-vide all my eggs... but until then, I know I can rely on Espuma Lab for consistent perfect eggs.
The Curry Chicken with Espuma Potato Foam was a special combination: a strong spicy curry kick with crunchy mini baguette bits and aerial potato espuma foam. Other variations of this dish include the Sauteed Mushrooms and Beef Rendang.
For my main course, I chose the Spaghetti with Swedish Meat Balls and Espuma Caramelized Onion Sauce. I love how fresh the ingredients tasted in my mouth. Let's begin with the pasta - it was cooked al dente and swirled beautifully into the little cocoon. This reminds me a little of Saveur's Pasta, which has similar presentation. I liked the thoughtfulness that goes into the plating. The sweet sauce complements the meatballs very well - I mopped up all of it to make sure none of it goes to waste.I like how it isn't jelat at all, though the meatballs were a little dry and hard, I reflected it to the chef - rather timidly I would say. I'm a beginner when it comes to cooking - I'm the sort that can only help with the eating when it comes to mealtimes. Despite his accolades and experience in the industry, Chef Teo was very humble and said that he would look into improving that. I was pleasantly surprised and it made me feel very confident in their menu sets.
I was missing their D24 durian fritters since my first visit, which was very rich and fragrant with real durian batter encrusted in the golden crispy balls. Of course I have to try this again... and they taste as good as my memory remembers. If you love durians, you have to get this when you are here. I don't actively seek for durian food but this was an exception that really whet my appetite.
This was the Fragrant Rice served with Cajun Chicken Leg and Espuma Curry Sauce ($6.80) which I had the other time, but they made an improvement on it which was using the sous vide method! I was again impressed by the amount of thoughtfulness and effort that the Espuma team put into perfecting each dish. Initially I thought that the cajun chicken leg was inconsistent in the tenderness, but with this new method, those worries are unfounded. This time, the cajun chicken leg was melt-in-the-mouth tender.All in all, I felt that this is a eatery-restaurant that's worth supporting and re-visiting because the Espuma team has a very upbeat and positive attitude towards creating a wonderful dining experience for their customers. Some behind-the-scenes comments - when it came to the media food tasting event, the PR team, Chef Teo and the managing directors ensured that all of us knew what goes on behind each dish, the cooking methods and also sought our opinions on how to improve them. This down-to-earth approach puts me at ease and definitely a place I want to recommend to my friends because I'm confident of their dish quality.
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